On July 13, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the Trump administration would seek to “dismantle” the International Criminal Court (ICC), “brick by brick, if necessary.” President Vladimir Putin, for whom the ICC has issued an arrest warrant, must have been rubbing his hands with glee when he heard.
U.S. hostility to the only permanent international criminal court is hardly new or out of step with the Republican Party. In 2002, the George W. Bush administration notified the UN Secretary-General that the United States did not intend to become a party to the Rome Statute. Congress then adopted a law known as the “Hague Invasion Act,” which authorised the president to use “all means necessary and appropriate” to secure the release of certain U.S. or allied personnel detained by, on behalf of, or at the request of the Court.
President Donald Trump’s first administration later imposed sanctions on ICC officials over the Afghanistan investigation. The second Trump administration went further in 2025, sanctioning ICC prosecutors and judges, including officials connected with investigations concerning Palestine and Afghanistan. The consequences went beyond the listed individuals, prohibiting U.S. citizens, unless authorised, from providing funds, goods or services to or for the benefit of any designated person, which would be punishable by up to 20 years imprisonment. The chilling effect this creates extends to Court personnel, lawyers, NGOs, scholars, journalists, banks and technology companies whose ordinary work may involve dealings with a sanctioned person.
